Shoulder strap



July 26,1927.

A. OBERSTEBRINK SHOULDER STRAP Filed Feb. 8 1926 Patented July 26, 1927.

Unirse l STATES PATENT g orifice.

AUGUST OBERSTEBRINK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 MOHAWK TEXTILE MILLS, INC., OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOULDER' STRAP.

Application led February i ordinarily fairlyy lowcut and comes in line .somewhere below the amr-pit. The present practice .is to provide the upper edge of a garment of this kind with shoulder straps which consist of very thin bands passing L over the shoulder and attached to the gar@ ment at front and back. A serious de fect with this kind of strap is that they slip down over thoshoulder causing discomfort to the wearer and when worn with sleevelessor short-sleeved dresses they are apt mayl be quickly and easily attachedto and detached from i the garment.

Another object of my invention. is to provide a simple and inexpensive shoulder strap of a textile fabric, the ends of which may be spread or splayed out without causing the fabric to wrinkle or bulge and so detract from the appearance of the shoulder strap. The splayed out ends serve to hold the strap securely in place and prevent it from slipping off the shoulder, said ends being attached to the front and rear of the garment at the upper edges thereof, as is usual with devices of this character.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts:

Fig. l illustrates the manner in which the device of my invention is used,

Fig. 2, is a plan of a strip of fabric from which the shoulder straps of my invention are made7 Fig. 3, a similar view of a strap with the ends spread out to a limited extent,

Fig. 4, a plan of a portion of a modified form, and

Fig. 5, a detail on an enlarged scale.

In the drawings, reference character l0 indicates the body or web of the strap, with splaycd end members 11 which are preferably integral, the whole being made as a warp knitted fabric on a Raschel knitting machine. As shown in the drawings the splayed ends are all equal in length and relatively short as compared with the body 8, 1926. Seria1\No..86,897.

portion. However, these dimensions may be varied to secure the bestresults, as for example thetwo portions 1l at one end of the strap may be` different in length or may vary in other respects. larp knitted fabric is characterized by the fact that it is made of a number of interknitted yarns all eri-- tending substantiallyP lengthwise of the fabric instead of a single yarn (or insome instances of a relatively small number of yarns) running across the fabric in rows or courses ofstitches.

Suchl fabric i ivantageous in that it is strong, it has icient elasticity to prevent it from tearing' loose from the garment to which it is attached, it may be produced at minimum expense, and it vlies flatwhen the ends are spread out. Ordinary knitted fabric is too elastic and does not keep its shape well, while a shoulder strap of woven fabric withspiayed ends will wrinkle or bulge when the ends are spread out even to a relatively smallextent, but the strap of warp knitting 'liesflat with its ends spread far enough apart so. that the opposedpull of the ends holds the strap against slipping oft the shoulder.

In use the web or body member 10 lies flat on the shoulder of the wearer and the splayed forked or divided ends are secured by stitches 1Q, or otherwise to the upper edges 13 at the front and back of the garment 14. The shoulder strap may, of course, be attached permanently to the garment but for the purpose of easy interchangeability the line of stitching is preferably rather loose so that it can be taken out with a minimum of trouble.

The fabric referred to is knitted on a warp machine with yarn-guide supporting bars above the needle rows. To make the slits in the fabric one yarn of each strip or ribbon is guided by a sepa-rate bar and is shogged so as to leave a needle bare` of yarn at the points where slits are desired. It will be noted that the edges of the slits, as well as the outer edges of the strip,`are selvage edges.

Fig. 5 shows a portion of the fabric on a scale of sufficient size to indicate the individual yarns in a manner conventional for the illustration of warp knitted fabrics. It will be seen that the yarns are so controlled as to leave apertures at 19, corresponding to the indication of slits at 19, 19 in Fig. 2,

The fabric of Fig. 4 differs from that so far `described in that the edges are indented so that a body 15 is provided with ornamental indented edges 16. This is done by means of threads or yarns 17 and 18 so located in the fabric as to draw in the edges at regular intervals. IVhile these yarns or threads are introduced primarily for ornament they are also useful in that they serve to limit the elasticity of the strap t0 a certain extent, they increase its durability and they limit diagonal stretch. They may be carried around the ends and up the inner sides of the splayed portions, if desired, and the ornamental features may be varied in many other ways. A convenient way of applying the yarns or threads 17 and 18 is by means of a special sewing machine. but I do not confine myself to this method.

Among other advantages of straps made of warp knitted fabric may be mentioned the facts that they do not ravel and cannot get out of shape. Due to their elasticity they give according to the movements of the body and they are so flexible as to lie always atall parts of their length directly against the body so as to present the best possible appearance in this respect. The splayed portions may be varied in length, and in some instances it may beV found desirable to make one of the parts 11 at each end longer than the other to increase their holding action. Many other variations will occur to those skilled in the art, and therefore I do not limit myself to the specific form of the invention shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

The present application is a continuation, in part, of my application Ser. No. 75,516, filed Dec. 157 1925. l Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a shoulder strap for womens undergarments comprising a body portion of warp knitted fabric adapted to rest on the shoulder of the user, and integral knitted splayed ends for attachment to the garmentI at the front and back of the shoulder.

Q. A shoulderstrap of'warp-knitted Ina terial for attachment to garments, said strap having an intermediate portion adapted to rest on the shoulder of the user and being dil vided lengthwise at each end to provide splayed portions for attachment to the upper edges of a garment, substantially as set. foith.

3. A strip of textile material having relatively long solid sections extending the full width of the strip to form shoulder portions of a shoulder strap for garments, and having longitudinal threadsdisplaced for relatively short intervals midway of the width of the strip to provide short forked portions at each end for attachment to a garment in splayed relation. y

In testimony1 whereof I affix my signature,4

AUGUST OBERSTEBRINK. 

